经济 – Chinese philosophy and culture

0
177
Listen to this article

jīnɡjì 经济

To Govern and Help the People

治理世事,救助百姓。“经世济民”的略语。“经世”即治理国家和社会事务,使之有条理;“济民”即帮助百姓,使之远离困境。“经济”是中国传统知识分子治学立世的目标和准则之所在,体现了他们学以致用、贡献国家、造福百姓的务实、民本精神。近代以降,“经济”转指创造、转化、实现价值,满足人们物质文化生活需要的社会活动等。

The term is an abbreviation of an expression meaning public governance and support for the people. Jing (经) means managing state and social affairs in an orderly manner; ji (济) means helping people who are in difficulty. This dual-pronged approach to governance is aimed at making the nation and society prosperous and ensuring that the people live in peace and contentment. The concept of jingji (经济) embodies the goals and principles followed by traditional Chinese intellectuals in the pursuit of scholarship and learning, and reflects their commitment to apply learning to the service of the country and for the benefit of the people. In modern times, the term is used to mean “economy,” namely, social activities that create, transfer or realize value, and satisfy people’s material and cultural needs.

引例 Citations:

◎而国家乃专以辞赋取进士,以墨义取诸科士,皆舍大方而趋小道,虽济济盈庭,求有才有识者十无一二,况天下危困,乏人如此,将何以救之乎?教以经济之业,取以经济之才,庶可救其不逮。(范仲淹《上仁宗答诏条陈十事》)

(朝廷专以诗赋选拔进士,以经义选拔其他科目的士子,都是舍弃了最重要的东西而追逐小技,这样选拔出的人即使济济一堂,但想寻求真有才识的人十个人中找不出一两个。况且天下形势危急,人才如此缺乏,用什么来拯救呢?将经世济民的内容教给士子,用经世济民的才能作为选拔人才的标准,只有这样或可解决人才匮乏的问题。)

The state selects talent through imperial civil service examinations solely on the basis of their literary ability and qualifies scholars only on the basis of their knowledge of the classics. This is ignoring the truly important and choosing the trivial. Even if we have an abundance of candidates, it will be hard to pick one or two competent ones out of every ten. In the current dire situation facing the empire and with paucity of talent, how can we save the country? Only by teaching scholars how to govern and help the people and by selecting talent in those areas can we hope to meet the demand for competent professionals. (Fan Zhongyan: Presentation of Ten Proposals in Response to Emperor Renzong’s Proclamation)

◎古来经济才,何事独罕有?(杜甫《上水遣怀》)

(为什么治国安民的人才自古少有?)

Why is it that there have been so few people adept at governance and helping the people since ancient times? (Du Fu: Reflections While Going Upstream)

Rate this post

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here